Dangerous Proposition (5 page)

It was something she really ought to get on doing herself. That was, if Colin Westwood hadn’t already taken care of matters last night.

Snapping her eyes closed, she struggled to remember just what had possessed her to drive over to the Westwood Mansion. In less than two hours, she’d broken into the wealthiest home in North Conway, destroyed an expensive-looking antique, and snuck into the primary resident’s bed. And as if that wasn’t enough of an addition to her resume in the lifetime hall of shame, the bastard had caught her red-handed.
And
he’d seen her face.

The cops weren’t about to arrest the son of the most powerful man in New England. But where she was concerned, they were going to throw away the key.

Julia shook her head. Taking a deep breath, she did all she could to cool her fried nerves. She needed to focus on the real problem at hand—her father—who was God knows where and probably terrified out of his mind. The man had been missing for over twenty-four hours. He had high blood pressure as well as a heart condition. The factors couldn’t be serving him well. That was, if she still had a father.

Closing her eyes, she fought to remember something her dad had said, something he may have let slip about his work.

But no sooner did she do so than the memory of Colin’s kiss flashed in her mind. The way his silken lips had slid over hers, the feel of his hands caressing her scalp. The man was paradise with black hair, and she’d wanted nothing more than to surrender to the sweet bliss of forbidden passion.

Julia clasped her damp forehead. What in God’s name was wrong with her? Aside from the fact that she had much more serious things to be concerned about, she knew better than to fantasize about candidates for America’s Most Wanted. Colin had said himself that he didn’t want anyone to know Tucker Dyson was missing. She’d heard him say it!

Julia sighed. She had done everything short of setting fire to her brain to stop thinking about that kiss. Knowing why Colin had given it to her ought to have been reason enough to keep the memory repressed and buried. But it seemed that every time she closed her eyes—or opened them, for that matter—it all came back to her. Colin’s hard body. The feel of his warm mouth. The things that he could do to her with that mouth…

“Nothing happened,” she said insistently. And it may as well have been nothing, because she was never going to see Colin Westwood again. She’d checked the balance in her savings account, and there was more than enough money to hire a private detective. It wasn’t the way she wanted to play things, but at least by sidestepping the authorities she might spare her father the fate of spending the next twenty to thirty years in prison.

Paper rustled on the other end of the phone. It sounded as though Abigail was unwrapping Christmas packages. “By nothing, do you mean that no one saw you, or the authorities let you off with a warning instead of just giving you the death sentence?”

“Touché,” Julia said, frantically flipping the channels for something to watch. There had to be some Saturday morning program that would distract her from Abigail’s pseudo-parenting, as well as her crazy fixation with a man who got a kick out of enticing women as a means of establishing power over them.

“So,” Abigail went on, “are you going to tell me about him, or am I just going to have to use my imagination?”

Julia was beginning to wish she had never picked up the phone. “Him?”

“Quit playing, Julia. Is Colin Westwood still as handsome as he used to be?”

That was one way of putting it. Colin Westwood had been handsome before, but the mysterious man she’d encountered last night had robbed her of breath. She recalled the way he’d taken her mouth—possessive, yet tender. He’d held her against him as though afraid to let her go. Doing so seemed out of character for such a strong, powerful man.

“I never said he was handsome,” Julia clarified.

“But you still haven’t answered my question,” Abigail pressed.

Julia tossed the remote against the couch cushion. “He’s a guy, what do you want me to say? Nice hair, decent build. If you like that tall, dark, and deadly type.”

“Which, you do.”

“You’re way off base. Even his kiss was—”

“He kissed you?” Abigail nearly squealed.

Julia shut her mouth. She was so hell-bent on convincing Abigail that there was nothing to get excited over, she hardly knew what she was saying anymore. She’d known damn well that she shouldn’t have gone to the Westwood Mansion, and yet she’d gone there anyway. When did the madness stop? Did she need something to literally hit her over the head?

“When were you planning on telling me this?” Abigail exclaimed. “It’s incredible! I’ll bet practically every woman in North Conway wishes she were in your shoes this morning. Don’t tell Ryan this, but I sort of had a thing for Colin Westwood myself when I was younger. He’s gorgeous, Julia, powerful and rich. You should go for it. If I were you, that’s exactly what I’d do.”

Had Abigail completely forgotten why she’d sought the guy out in the first place? Colin Westwood was a criminal. He was probably responsible for her father’s disappearance, and maybe even his murder. Falling for the enemy would be the most surefire way to lose the war.

“Yeah, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind me dropping the charges I’m going to press against him, either. Look, the guy is a death trap waiting to happen. Keeping him in the picture is only going to slow down my dad’s investigation.
That’s
my number one priority. Not some wannabe Abercrombie and Fitch model.”

To Julia’s relief, the doorbell was ringing. She looked up, spotting the top of a head through the window above the door.

With a sinking feeling, she stood on the couch and put one foot on the cushion. Placing the other beside it, she got up slowly, not quite unbending her knees.

Devious blue eyes examined her from the window. Looming beneath a set of shifty black eyebrows, they offered a look of amusement and intrigue.

She dropped the phone then scrambled to pick it up again. “Hang on, Abby. There’s someone at my door.”

Julia hung up. She raced to the door, opening it a crack. Colin Westwood was standing outside her house!

“Aren’t you going to let me in?” he asked, extending a smile that should have gotten him arrested.

“That depends.” She grinned, wedging his black leather shoe between the door and the frame. Locking the chain into place, she said, “Are you peddling bathroom tiles this morning, or did you come back for another kick in the nuts? Sorry to disappoint you, Dr. Westwood, but I’m not in the habit of inviting strange men into my home.”

“Yet you think nothing of breaking into their homes and sneaking into their beds in the middle of the night.”

Her face grew slick with heat. “It isn’t what you think.”

“Oh? And what is it I think, Ms. Dyson?”

Julia stiffened her lip, determined not to show him how rattled she was at the realization that he’d somehow learned her name. Lifting her chin, she said, “You think I’m some sort of underground spy, working for a higher-up, who’s trying to take a piece of whatever criminal operation it is you’re working for.” Noting the unmistakable twitch of his brow, she said, “I’m not a spy. I only want to know what you’ve done with my father.”

Colin was silent a long moment. When he did respond, his voice was low, and there was a hint of sadness in his voice. “You think I’m responsible for Tucker’s disappearance?”

He knew her father had “disappeared.” She fought the urge to be sick. “You were the last person who spoke to him before he was taken from his office.”

Colin nodded, prying his foot from between the door and the frame. “Since you obviously think you know a few things about what goes on in this town, I’m sure you’re well aware that as a physician, my job requires me to keep in contact with a lot of patients, particularly those who use prescription drugs. You must know that your father takes Coreg CR.”

“Yes,” Julia said, very grateful she’d done her homework last night before hitting the sack. “But I also know that he goes to a private practitioner for his checkups, and that his regular physician is Dr. Marissa Sinclair.”

Colin’s roguish face grew pale. He stepped back, shoving his hands into his pants pockets.

As she watched him, Julia’s heart sank in her chest. She’d told Abigail that she could care less about Mr. Baby Blues. And she
could
. But she’d really hoped she was wrong about Colin being a criminal. She believed he’d been a nice guy once, and she couldn’t help wondering what had happened to him to make him change so drastically.

Shaking her head, she took her father’s cell phone from her pocket. She placed it into Colin’s hand. “For years, ever since we left San Francisco for New York City, I’ve sensed my father’s been keeping things from me. He took a job, he claims, as an insurance salesman. But I know for a fact that he was never interviewed in an office. At first, I thought he might be dealing drugs, and I followed him to this underground club. I couldn’t see the man he was meeting with, but I do know it wasn’t the only time he went there. Ten years later, we reside in the boonies, and my dad is still working past midnight. Late night hours and secret meetings never really struck me as the norm for an insurance salesman. I’m telling you this because I think that you’re involved. In fact, I think you might be the mastermind behind this whole thing.”

Colin’s deep-blue irises grew three sizes. He laughed, causing Julia’s back muscles to stiffen. “I assume I’m the only person you’ve told about your so-called theory. If you’re right, and your father is working for some sort of criminal venture, he could be facing prison time. Why risk exposing him by even having this conversation?”

Julia crossed her arms. “If you didn’t come here to confess, tell me what you’re doing on my doorstep on a Saturday morning.”

“Maybe I’ve come back for more.” His smile was viperous, and it caused the fine hairs on her arm to rise.

She sucked in a breath. “Well that’s too bad because you’re never going to get
more
. I’m sorry you wasted your time driving all the way over here, but last night was a one-shot deal. Guess your dreams will just have to suffice.”

“You have quite a sharp tongue. It’s a shame I didn’t get to examine it more thoroughly last night. I only want to talk. Undo the lock. Please.”

“Well, since you said please.” She smiled coyly, pulling back the chain. She removed it from the slider.

Having decided, apparently, to invite himself in, Colin strode past her. He entered the living room, and his eyes drifted immediately to the sofa. Julia could swear he was actually tsking as he stepped beside it.

Her place was small, and it felt even less spacious with a six-and–a-half-foot man in a suit looking it over. The furniture, which she was beginning to regret ever purchasing, consisted of a coffee table, a well-worn couch, and a television. She tapped her foot as Colin looked them over with a cynical eye.

“Are you planning on telling me what you’re doing here and how you learned my name? Or did you come by to inspect my place for dust mites?”

He turned, smiling in her direction. “A woman who cuts to the chase. No foreplay, just straight to the bottom line. Which is precisely what I plan to give you. I want to make an exchange.”

She didn’t like the sound of that. It was as though he’d mapped out an entire game plan before coming there. Which meant whatever he intended to offer her was probably one hundred percent selfish. “An exchange?”

His smile was secretive, stance far too confident. “I want to help you locate your father.”

“And supposing I decided to humor you, I imagine you’re going to want something in return.” Julia tapped a finger against her cheek. “So, what is it you’re after, Dr. Westwood? My silence? My word that I won’t mention your name to the cops when all this is over?”

His stare sent goose bumps down her arms. “For a woman who sneaks into men’s bedrooms, you sure are uptight.”

She fumed.

“All I want is you by my side, where you can watch every moment of the good stuff from a front-row seat.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad. But I have a feeling there’s a little more to it than that.”

“All I want is you close by,” Colin said. “In the place you already are, or rather, where you were.”

“What place would that be, exactly?”

He smiled. “In my bed, of course.”

“In your
what
?” Julia cried, her nerves piercing with rage.

“You’re a smart woman, Ms. Dyson. Clearly, it didn’t take you long to figure out that the connection between Tucker and myself was never doctor, patient. I’m not going to lie to you when it’s obvious I’d only be wasting my time. Your father is a messenger for a small branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I’m his superior.”

“You’re full of it!” Julia exclaimed, hardly believing she’d thought she could reason with this snake. She had to be out of her mind for attempting to talk to him. Waving her pointer finger, she said, “You’re going down, Westwood. When I expose your little crime gang, you’ll pay for what you did to my father.”

With a stern look of warning, Colin clasped her by the shoulders. He stared her down, looking furiously into her eyes. “I’m not responsible for your father’s disappearance, Julia, and I’m doing everything in my power to find him. More importantly, I’m the only one who
can
. Most men in my position wouldn’t tell you a damn thing, let alone allow you to be a part of the rescue. I’m giving you a chance to be involved, to see that I’m not the villain you think I am.”

“I won’t be your mistress,” she spat, prying herself free.

As if anyone working on the side of the law would make such a preposterous request. It was as if he believed she’d been born yesterday. To think she’d once admired this man, thought him strong for becoming a doctor when he could just as easily have spent the rest of his life sitting on his pretty-boy behind.

She watched as Colin slipped his hands into his pockets. He turned, pacing the room. “Considering the lengths you’re willing to go to, I’m surprised you aren’t more eager to accept my offer. I’d be letting you in on classified information that would take you years to find on your own. That is, if you could find it at all.”